The invention relates to a coating apparatus for applying a coating to a stream of product passing continuously through it, and more particularly to a coating apparatus that handles food products fit for human consumption including without limitation chicken, fish, seafood, pork, beef and so on. The coating material is commonly a breading material which might range in composition from a flour mixture to a coarse bread-crumb mixture. The various kinds of breading material allow inclusion of spices or flavorings within the mixture.
The coating apparatus has an intake system which is where the main coating activity takes place. Additionally, the coating apparatus has belts in substitution of functions normally provided by a rotating drum—see, eg., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,744 and/or 6,158,332—a substitute belt system, it being more conveniently referred to herein as a “flexible drum.” The flexible drum tumbles the coated product to knock off excess breading material as well as to ensure more even application of the coating material. The food product can be routed at the option of the operator(s) of the coating apparatus to bypass the drum. Bypassing the drum is desirable when processing “formed” food products such as beef patties or fish cakes and the like, which would disintegrate in the drum.
Further inventive aspects of this coating apparatus include improvements in the way that the flexible drum discharges coated product onto an outflow conveyor in order that the outflowing product be automatically spread more evenly distributed across the width of the outflow conveyor.
A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of the preferred embodiments and examples with reference to the drawings.